Wishbone Ash is a British rock band which achieved its greatest success in … Read Full Bio ↴Wishbone Ash is a British rock band which achieved its greatest success in the early and mid-1970s. Their most popular albums included Wishbone Ash (1970), Argus (1972), There's the Rub (1974), and New England (1976). They were one of the first bands to use twin lead guitars.

Wishbone Ash can trace its origins back to Torquay, Devon, England, a seaside resort in the southwest of the country. It was there that Martin Turner and Steve Upton first performed together; Turner on bass, Upton on drums, before moving to London in 1969 to seek fame and fortune. In the capital the decision was made to place an advertisement for a keyboard player and a lead guitarist. The resulting audition threw up two guitar leads, but nobody could decide who to choose and the trademark twin-lead sound of Wishbone Ash was born.

Ted (David) Turner and Andy Powell soon went through the poverty and growing pains of a new band, but were fortunate that Miles Copeland was championing their cause and a fairly rapid progression was achieved. The first Album, Wishbone Ash, was released in December 1970 and their second, Pilgrimage, surfaced just six months later to reach #6 in the NME charts. Great things were just 11 months away with the release of Argus (1972) -- possibly the band's best album; certainly their most commercially successful -- which reached #2 in the UK charts and went gold. Argus is considered to be one of the great rock classics of all time. The next album, Wishbone Four, only 12 months later, went silver.

After these early highs, Ted Turner decided that he had had enough, and left the band to be replaced by Laurie Wisefield. Although Laurie’s style was not to everyone’s taste, he was generally well liked by the fans and brought a slightly harder edge to the folk-tinged progressive rock that was the Wishbone Ash formula. Wisefield was a dynamic player and became an excellent partner to Andy -- they were to play together for a very successful 11 years and the MKII version of the band is very well thought of for most of its output. About this time the band became more influenced by America and would eventually move there.

The next album, There's The Rub (1974), was recorded in Florida and produced by Eagles producer Bill Szymczyk. Once again it was to do well, achieving silver disc status. There's the Rub included the instrumental piece F.U.B.B. Steve Upton was arrested in New Zealand for announcing at a concert it's full title. In New Zealand, swearing in public is a criminal offense, and when Upton announced the title at an outdoor concert, a woman sunbathing in her garden nearby complained to the mayor. Upton spent the night in jail, and the album reached #3 in New Zealand due to the publicity.

It was inevitable that a turkey was due and to fans Locked In (1976) fit this bill. This record was not released -- it escaped! Fortunately things were much better with the quality of the following albums and although the high chart positions were gone, the fans were enjoying some competent, well-crafted output.

After 11 years in the band, Martin Turner decided to leave. This move began a period of frequent changes of bass player with the likes of John Wetton and Trevor Bolder being two of the better known; however, Wishbone Ash always has attracted musicians of the highest order. A much more controversial move was the introduction of Clair Hamill to fill in some of the vocal talent Martin had taken away with him. Clair was not popular with the fans which was perhaps a little unfair. She had contributed backing vocals on Just Testing (Turner's last album (1980), which he had also produced) and had co-written the excellent Living Proof, which is still a crowd favourite today. Her stay was short-lived with Andy Powell taking on more vocal duties. Wisefield left in late 1985 and the band continued to tour with various replacements, but were very much in limbo until 1987 when a miracle occurred. Miles Copland persuaded the original lineup to reform for a project for a music charity that he was helping, and a Hammersmith Odeon concert which the BBC recorded resulted. The project produced an instrumental album Nouveau Calls (1987), which was very well received. Even better received was the fact that three years of the original lineup were to follow.

Just when things were going so well, Steve Upton decided to quit the business entirely in 1990, to be replaced by Ray Weston. Martin Turner carried on for another year before leaving to pursue a solo career, and Ted left two years later. The next five years saw lots of personnel changes, but eventually resulted in a good period of stability with Ray Weston returning and Bob Skeet joining on bass in 1998.

The new millennium has also seen stability in respect of Andy's guitar partner, with the last 6 years being filled by Ben Granfelt and subsequently Muddy Manninen, both of whom come from Finland. 2005 saw Wishbone Ash celebrate their 35th year. 2006 heralded the new album Clan Destiny (the first featuring Muddy as guitarist). 2007 saw the exit of long-term drummer Ray Weston, due to the increasingly hectic pace of band life. Joe Crabtree (formerly of The David Cross band) stepped up to fill his place. With regard to new releases, 2007 saw First Light, which features original recordings of the songs featured on their debut album, as well as some outtakes. Also released that year was the new album The Power of Eternity (partly featuring Joe Crabtree on drums), which coincided with the Autumn tour.

Wishbone Ash are still performing 150 gigs a year in the U.S. and Europe. They get very supportive crowds with good numbers turning out all over Europe -- the U.S. tends to attract smaller audiences, but very committed fans. If you want to hear classic Wishbone Ash, get ahold of Argus. Visit their web site www.wishboneash.com, where tour dates and albums, etc. can be obtained.

Loose Change
Wishbone Ash Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Money can’t buy it
the love I have to give.
You can’t deny it
it’s my kiss that you miss.
Love, let’s be patient, one day soon.

Memories haunt me
and I ask myself why.

They tease me and taunt me
since we said, said goodbye.
I’m living a new life from now on.

After we parted
it all came so clear.
I looked and I counted
the sum of my fears.

With memories like loose change
in the palm of my hand,
can’t let you escape from me now.
There is no way, now how.
I feel like that loose change
and I can’t understand.
There is no way, no how
I’m living a new life from now on.

These memories haunt me
and I ask myself why.

Money can’t buy it,
all the love that you give

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Wishbone Ash's song "Loose Change" depict the singer's struggle with trying to move on from a past love. The first verse focuses on the idea that material possessions cannot replace the love that the singer has to offer. The second verse delves into the memories that continue to plague the singer, preventing them from moving on. However, the chorus offers a glimmer of hope for the future - that one day, the singer and their former lover may be able to come together again.

The third verse reveals a moment of clarity for the singer after the breakup. They are able to see their fears and regrets more clearly, and acknowledge that they must move forward with their life. However, the chorus repeats the sentiment that the singer is still holding onto memories of their former love like loose change in their hand. They cannot let go of the past, even as they try to start anew.

Overall, "Loose Change" is a poignant reflection on the aftermath of a failed relationship. The lyrics examine the conflicting emotions that arise when trying to move on from a past love, and the struggle to truly let go of the memories that remain.

Line by Line Meaning

Money can’t buy it
True love cannot be purchased with money.

the love I have to give.
The love the singer has for the other person is not dependent on money or material possessions.

You can’t deny it
The recipient cannot deny the existence of the love that the singer has for them.

it’s my kiss that you miss.
The recipient misses the singer's acts of love, such as their kisses.

Love, let’s be patient, one day soon.
The singer is asking the recipient to be patient and wait for a time when their love can be fully expressed.

Memories haunt me
The singer is tormented by memories of the past.

and I ask myself why.
The singer is questioning why these memories are still affecting them.

They tease me and taunt me
The memories are causing emotional pain for the singer.

since we said, said goodbye.
These memories have been haunting the singer since they parted ways with the recipient.

I’m living a new life from now on.
The singer has moved on and is starting a new chapter in their life.

After we parted
This line describes the moment when the singer and the recipient went their separate ways.

it all came so clear.
After they parted, the true feelings of the singer became clear to them.

I looked and I counted
The singer reflected on their feelings and analyzed them.

the sum of my fears.
The singer faced their fears related to expressing their true feelings.

With memories like loose change
The singer compares their painful memories to loose change that they cannot get rid of.

in the palm of my hand,
The singer feels like they are holding onto these memories tightly.

can’t let you escape from me now.
The singer is holding onto the hope of being with the recipient again and will not let them go.

There is no way, now how.
The singer is determined to be with the recipient and will not give up on their love.

I feel like that loose change
The singer feels like their painful memories are weighing them down unpredictably, much like loose change in their pocket.

and I can’t understand.
The singer cannot comprehend why these memories continue to haunt them.

I’m living a new life from now on.
The singer is trying to move on and start a new life without the recipient, but is having trouble doing so.

Money can’t buy it,
The love the singer has for the recipient cannot be purchased with money.

all the love that you give
The recipient's love is something that cannot be bought with money and is highly valued by the singer.

Contributed by Lucy N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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